Although there is no vaccine or prescribed cure to end violence against women in any community, what is generally prescribed is to sensitise the public on gender love, understanding the opposite sex as weaker vessel that can be managed without battering or any other violence and also to educate women and the girl child on responsible behavioural pattern that can reduce sexual harassment, rape, among other inhuman treatments against them.
According to reports from an independent observer, it was noted that about 75% of women are seriously exposed to domestic violence, either from their husbands, in-laws, immediate siblings or neighbours. Apart from the fact that the girl child shares significant percentage in the rate of violence in any community, their early exposure to this grievous violence starts from age 10 and they already become victims of rape, sexual harassment and abortion.
Revelations from data gathered from the United Nations says one in five women and girls under the age of 50 in 57 countries that were studied have encountered physical and sexual violence. Also, in a study carried out by the Thompson Reuter Foundation, it pointed out that India, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and United States of America make up the top 10 countries on the violence ranking.
The concern of most experts in gender wellbeing is to work out the best ways to end violence against women and girl child. Though the actual cause of the violence is unknown, experts opine that some of these treatments crop due to male chauvinism, change of values, socioeconomic hardships, misleading cultural and religious beliefs as well as nonexistence of strong legal frameworks to protect them.
Ending violence against women is possible through the global support and awareness on the need to protect and respect women’s interest and rights. It’s no wonder the United Nations in 2015 international day for the elimination of violence against women came up with the theme “Prevention”. In fact elimination of all forms of violence against women has become a target in the United Nations’ new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
The global support on preventing violence against women was contained in a document from the collaboration of some United Nations’ entities such as UN women, International Labour Organization (ILO), OHCHR, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNFPA and World Health Organisation (WHO). Their target and pursuit is to seek for cooperation from all stakeholders across the globe to play their role and that governments across the world must make and implement laws to prevent violence against women and punish offenders.
The growing concerns are the challenges confronting UN measures at reducing violence against women and the girl child. 49 countries still lack laws protecting women from domestic violence while 39 countries disapprove of equal inheritance rights for daughters and sons.
The Federal Government of Nigeria for example has not fully promulgated laws protecting women against violence, what it has done is implementing Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) act which was signed in May 25, 2015 and it was to protect people including women against abuse, battery, economic abuse, exploitation, circumcision or genital mutilation, discrimination among others still suffered setback in the area of implementation.
Experts also frown at poor support and lack of cooperation from some state governments in Nigeria to domesticate the law as statistics show that hundreds of thousands of women who are victims of violence are denied adequate justice.
The Federal Government should take pragmatic steps towards ending violence against women by promulgating new laws and ensuring each state enforces its full implementation across the county.
A behavioural expert opined that respect begats respect which implies that women and girls should be of good conduct, dress appropriately without exposing their nakedness, shun bad peer groups while religious leaders should also teach their followers godly behaviours, respect for one another, peaceful coexistence and love. It is generally agreed that it takes two to tango.
Kehinde-Ajala Sakirat, Abeokuta
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